Slower than Texas in December

Cheers to the newest member of the Salazar Manor family! This is Texas - the Eastern Box Tortoise. Texas is much more than the largest state in the union. Texas is also the smallest critter at your favorite friendly neighbourhood petting zoo.

Luis and Dani found Texas in Calgary, Alberta while on vacation. They were visiting Kelly Issac who was on vacation from Japan. Well, she originates from Calgary but has been teaching English in Japan for, what, five years now. "GO!" That's Japanese for five.

Now, Texas doesn't "go" very fast. The dude's slower than mollasses in December, in fact. The only time he moves faster than mollasses in December is when he is out hunting worms. Then he is faster than worms and faster than mollasses in December.

Texas was snoozing at Pices Pet Emporium in Calgary when Luis woke him up. He sure is tiny - less than two inches long! He is so small that the pet store attendant couldn't even find him in his vivarium when Luis asked to see him. He was buried deep in the pet moss and was slumbering like an old lion on the plains.

Texas was born on October 13, 2005. Luis bought the dude on December 28, 2005 with a fist full of dollars he got for Christmas. He lives in his own pad in Luis and Dani's livingroom. He is a voracious eater and will eat just about anything that smells like food or wiggles like a worm.

When fully grown, Texas will have a brightly colored carapace, bright red eyes and a high domed shell. He will be around seven inches long and live to be anywhere between 50 - 100 years old. That's crazy! More on little Texas later.

Sqawk!